Sewing needles



Nov. 3, 1959 5. J. EVERETT 2,910,983 SEWING NEEDLES Filed Jui 10. 1958 ll I Inventor SAMUEL JAMES EVERETT A ttorn e y United States Patent SEWING NEEDLES Samuel James Everett, Thornton Heath, Surrey, England, assignor to S. & R. J. Everett & Co. Ltd., Thornton Heath, England, a British company Application July 10, 1958, Serial No. 747,659

Claims priority, application Great Britain July 16, 1957 2 Claims. (Cl. 128-339) a needle with a normal eye is avoided and the diameter of the needle, together with the suture, may be made substantially uniform along its length. This enables it to slide more easily and such needles are commonly known as non-traumatic or atraumatic.

According to the present invention the suture is clamped in position by initially forming the needle in the region of the socket with a protuberance of greater diameter than the remainder of the length of the needle and after inserting the suture in position the needle is subjected to mechanical deformation such as by swaging so that it is of substantially uniform diameter throughout its length, the deformation of the protuberance causing the walls of the socket to move inwardly to grip the suture. The protuberance may be pear-shaped, tapering to a sharp edge around the entrance of the socket, the bore of which is initially parallel. The effect of the deformation is to transfer the protuberance from the outer surface of the needle to the surface of the socket so as to grip the suture, the sharp edge around the entrance to the socket remaining to give a flared entrance to the socket, thus preventing damage to the suture.

Constructions in accordance with the invention will now be described in more detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which are to a greatly enlarged scale. In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows the rear end of a surgical needle partly in section with a suture in position prior to being clamped;

Figure 2 is a view corresponding to Figure 1, after the suture has been clamped in position;

Figure 3 shows amodified construction prior to the clamping of the suture; and

Figure 4 is a view corresponding to Figure 3 after the clamping of the suture.

The rear end of a surgical suture needle 1 is formed with an axial socket 2, having a parallel bore for the reception of a suture, the end of which is seen at 3. The body of the needle is formed with a pear-shaped protuberance 4 which tapers ed to a sharp edge 5 around the entrance to the socket 2.

After the suture 3 has been placed in position the needle is swaged to give the result shown in Figure 2. From this figure it will be seen that the needle is now 2 of substantially uniform diameter throughout its length and that the protuberance 4 has been transferred to the interior of the socket 2 so as to constitute an internal bulge 6 which distorts and grips the suture 3 and thus prevents its removal.

In the modified construction of Figure 3 corresponding parts are identified by the same reference numerals. In place of the pear-shaped protuberance 4, three annular ridges 7, 8 and 9 are formed on the body of a needle in the region of the socket 2. The diameter of the ridges decreases towards the rear end of the needle. The needle shown in Figure 3 is subjected to the same swaging operation as the needle of Figure 1 so as to give a uniform external diameter and to transfer the ridges 7, 8 and 9 to the walls of the socket where they are seen in Figure 4 as 10, 11 and 12.

The fact that the ridges 10, 11 and 12 are of decreasing diameter decreases the constrictive efiect on the suture towards the mouth of the socket 2. In the constructions of both Figures 2 and 4 the sharp edge 5 provides a flared entrance to the socket 2, thus preventing damage to the suture.

By means of a method in accordance with the present invention the outer surface of the needle may be finished to any desired degree of smoothness without any discontinuities caused by the presence of the socket.

I claim:

1. A method of manufacturing a surgical suture needle of substantially uniform diameter throughout its length and having a suture held in an axial socket at the end remote from the point, said method comprising the steps of forming the needle initially in the region of said socket With a protuberance of greater diameter than the remainder of the length of the needle, the bore of the socket being initially parallel and the protuberance being pear-shaped and tapering to a sharp edge around the entrance to the socket, inserting a suture in position in said socket and subjecting said needle to mechanical deformation so that it is rendered of substantially uniform diameter throughout its length, the deformation of said protuberance causing the walls of said socket to move inwardly to grip said suture.

2. A method of manufacturing a surgical suture needle of substantially uniform diameter throughout its length and having a suture held in an axial socket at the end remote from the point, said method comprising the steps of forming the needle initially in the region of said socket with a protuberance of greater diameter than the remainder of the length of the needle, the bore of the needle being initially parallel and the protuberance being formed with anumber of annular ridges, the diameter of which decreases towards the rear end of the needle, inserting a su ture in position in said socket and subjecting said needle to mechanical deformation so that it is rendered of substantially uniform diameter throughout its length, the deformation of said protuberance causing the walls of said socket to move inwardly to grip said suture.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

